wallstreetfandomcom-20200213-history
Bud Fox
Bud Fox. Biography Bud Fox starts off his career at Jackson Steinem & Co like many rookie Wall Street brokers. He spends the day making cold calls to lower income clients and only occasionally makes a sell. He spends his evenings at a local bar with his father, Carl, who is a union boss at Bluestar airlines. Carl tells Bud, in casual conversation, that the legal issues facing the company will resolve in their favor very soon. Bud is obsessed with legendary corporate raider and power trader Gordon Gekko, whom he refers to as the whale, and calls his office daily to try and get a meeting with him. Finally, on Gekkos birthday, he brings a box of illegal Cuban cigars to his office and convinces Gekko's secretary for five minutes of time. Gekko asks Bud how he got the cigars and Bud tells him that his father is a union chief at Bluestar Airlines, where they constantly confiscate the contraband cigars. Gekkos nods his approval and gives Bud the go ahead and pitch his ideas. Excited Bud gives his normal run-down of the companies he has researched. Gekko is unimpressed and tell Bud unless he has something exciting the meeting was over. Bud blurts out that Bluestar is about to have a major surge in their stock prices as soon as their legal issues are resolved soon. Gekko knows that purchasing Bluestar with that information would be illegal insider trading, and is impressed that Bud was willing to so casually break the law to make a client. Gekko, not to reveal his interest, dismisses Bud anyway. Bud returns to his office and is disheartened and depressed until near the closing bell he receives a call from Gekko to take a large position in Bluestar. Bud excitedly proclaims that he has landed the whale. Bluestar's stock prices reacts as anticipated to the positive news and Gekko hires Bud as one of his brokers. At first the companies that Bud did honest research and analyses on lose Gekko money, to which Gekko is disappointed. Gekko convinces Bud that the only way to get ahead was to cheat and suggests that Bud spy on British corporate raider and tycoon Sir Lawrence Wildman to learn what his next move was. By sneaking around and posing as a janitor Bud learns that Wildman plans on purchasing Anacott Steel, a struggling refinery. Seizing the opportunity Gekko purchases large quantities of Anacott Steel stock and then, through various illegal market manipulation tactics, drives the share price up. Frustrated, Wildman confronts Gekko, telling him he was planning on turning the plant around so as to preserve jobs and the plants heritage. Gekko then offers to sell Wildman his shares for much more than he paid for them, making millions in the deal. He shares this windfall with Bud. Bud is very quickly promoted within Jackson Steinem and gets a corner office. His personal life drastically improves as well. He moves into an expensive apartment with his model girlfriend and socialite Darien and begins to quickly enjoy the perks of his new riches. He soon brings on his friends to straw buy for him, where they purchase shares in companies he may be connected to, in order to insulate himself from any claims of insider trading. Gekko makes Bud sign a power of attorney as well, so as to insulate himself from Bud's actions in the market. Bud's fortunes continue to rise until he convinces Gekko to take over the majority shareholder position of Bluestar Airlines, where his father, a union boss, works. The airline is struggling and has an extremely undervalued stock price, enabling Gekko to purchase the company for far less than it's actually worth. The airline has many aircraft, substantial land, and to Gekkos delight, a $75 million pension fund. Bud wishes to be president of the company and to turn it around. He convinces his father to go along with the deal because it's what's best for the airline. Finally Carl agrees, despite his ill feelings towards Gekko and his uncertainty over the deal. Gekko continues to buy up huge amounts of shares of the airline until he maintains a controlling interest over it. His plan is to dismantle the airline and sell off the assets and collect the large pension fund, leaving Carl and the rest of the employees unemployed and destitute. When Bud learns of this plan he is outraged and immediately works to stop Gekko. He uses the same tactics he used for against Wildman against Gekko, driving up the price of the company, causing Gekko to spend more and more to get a controlling interest. Bud then works to drive the price of the airline down to rock bottom, which enrages Gekko as he loses millions. He is eventually forced to unload his near worthless shares to Sir Lawrence Wildman, who acquires the company, and the blessing of the unions, for far less, under the promise that he would keep the airline in business. The next day Bud is arrested by SEC and FBI officials and is charged with insider trading and market manipulation. He leaves Jackson Steinem in handcuffs, crying. He is next seen meeting with Gekko in a private area where Gekko assaults him and proceeds to incriminate his involvement in market manipulation, stock fraud, insider trading, and various other financial crimes. Bud was wearing a wire the entire time and it's suggested that Gekko admitted enough to be charged and to lighten Bud's sentence. He is then transported the courthouse by his parents where he has accepted that he will end up in jail. Read more: The Crash: The Rise and Fall of Bud Fox - TIME http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965889,00.html#ixzz2qUUcOXIl Reunion At a party, Bud runs into Gordon, and the two have a brief chat before Bud leaves. After he got out of jail with a light sentence. He tells Gekko that he was made a owner/ manager of the airline, which was sold some years ago and he made millions on the deal and is now independently wealthy and happy. Appearances/Actors *(2 films) **''Wall Street'' (First appearance) - Charlie Sheen **''Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps'' - Charlie Sheen